The man called 911 around 8 a.m. Wednesday to report that a school bus “came right by here” but didn’t pick up the children.

“The police ought to come down here because we’ve got a bunch of kids out here,” the man said. “They say they missed the bus.”

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A Leon County Schools bus driver makes his way to a bus before afternoon pick-up at the Conner-Lakes Leon County Schools Bus Compound Tuesday, August 13, 2019. (Photo: Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat)

The dispatcher asked whether he had a “life or death emergency” and suggested he call a non-emergency line.

Chris Doyle, who lives in SouthWood, learned about the 911 call after taking a bus downtown about a half hour later. He said the Big Bend Transit employee, his favorite driver, told him that children, perhaps as young as first-graders, ran into the road to flag him down in front of their apartments on Midyette Road near Capital Circle Southeast.

“They were panicked that their parents were now at work and they were stranded,” Doyle said in an email to the Democrat, which was CCed to County Commissioner Kristin Dozier. “No bus had picked them up and school was starting.”

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Leon County School Busses Lead Worker Greg Bruce prepares a bus for its afternoon route at the Conner-Lakes Leon County Schools Bus Compound Tuesday, August 13, 2019. Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat

Leon County School Busses Lead Worker Greg Bruce walks to a bus to prepare it for an afternoon route at the Conner-Lakes Leon County Schools Bus Compound Tuesday, August 13, 2019. Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat

Leon County School Busses Lead Worker Greg Bruce prepares a bus for its afternoon route at the Conner-Lakes Leon County Schools Bus Compound Tuesday, August 13, 2019. Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat

Leon County School Busses Lead Worker Greg Bruce prepares a bus for its afternoon route at the Conner-Lakes Leon County Schools Bus Compound Tuesday, August 13, 2019. Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat

Leon County School Busses Lead Worker Greg Bruce prepares a bus for its afternoon route at the Conner-Lakes Leon County Schools Bus Compound Tuesday, August 13, 2019. Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat

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The transit driver couldn’t reach his supervisor, so he called 911 instead, Doyle said. About that time, a school bus showed up late to pick up the kids.

“This situation is beyond ridiculous!” Doyle wrote. “These are small children, for Christ’s sake! And God bless that driver and his passengers. They did what they could.”

District spokesman Chris Petley said logs show the bus arrived shortly after 8 a.m. at a bus stop scheduled for a 7:52 a.m. pickup time.

"Riders are asked to be at a stop 10 minutes prior and to wait to allow for ebbs and flow of traffic," he said.

The call came days after the district saw its new $720,000 bus routing system go haywire on the first day of school, with numerous students, including those with special needs, left stranded as drivers tried to adjust to new routes amid a series of technical glitches.

The problems prompted the district to scrap the new system, which relied on software from Education Logistics, Inc. District officials say they are seeing fewer issues this week after returning to last year’s routes. But parents and others say problems, including overcrowding, haven’t been fixed yet.